A Study to Ascertain the Growth Situation of the Kumasi Metropolitan Area (KMA): A Remote Sensing Approach
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Date
April 2011.
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Abstract
Urban sprawl has led to the loss of lots of natural resources such as water bodies,
wetlands, agricultural lands, forest, etc which are necessary biodiversities needed to
create a balanced environment and ecosystem. As towns and cities expand due to the
increase in urban population, enormous pressure is exerted on the surrounding
natural resources in order to create space to cater for the increasing urban population.
Urban sprawl generally leads to the wasteful development of land, and also poses
health and other hazardous threat to people due to its overcrowded characteristic.
This has made it essential to understand the phenomenon of urban sprawl, especially
with the perspective of a developing country like Ghana. The problem of urban
sprawl is known to be an outcome of improper planning, inadequate policies and lack
of good governance due to diverse reasons. The inability of the planning mechanism
to envisage probable areas of sprawl and its growth is persistent with the lack of
appropriate spatial information and indicators. With the need for sustainable
development, it is essential to integrate the various factors responsible for dynamic
process and establish the complex relationships amongst them.
Remote System (RS) techniques applied on remotely sensed images and topographic
data were carried out to assess the urban growth of the Kumasi Metropolitan Area
(KMA) of the Ashanti region of Ghana. Semi-structured questionnaires were also
administered to carry out a socioeconomic survey to ascertain its influence on the
expansion of the KMA.
Spatial analysis and statistical analysis revealed the pattern and growth of the urban
area from 1974 to 2007. The change in urban growth of the KMA was discovered to
be three times more than the change in population growth. The reasons for
uncontrolled development were also revealed by the socioeconomic survey.
The results suggested that the KMA is sprawled. The sprawl is due to the increasing
population growth, unequal income (poverty), and noncompliance to laid down
developmental plans within the KMA.
Description
A Graduate Thesis Submitted In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Master of Science in Geomatic Engineering,